Seton Hall University
Montclair State (Swimming)
Women's Swim & Dive Outclasses Montclair State in Opener
10/10/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
Oct. 10, 2013
MONTCLAIR, N.J. - The Seton Hall women's swimming & diving squad opened its 2013-14 season in dominating fashion on Wednesday night, racing past in-state foe Montclair State, 160-116 on the road.
The Pirates (1-0) occupied the top-two spots in 14 out of 16 events and saw nine swim team members collect at least one BIG EAST automatic qualifying time.
Freshman Melody Bush (Guelph, Ontario) made a memorable first impression in her collegiate debut, tying team-highs with two individual victories and three times that surpassed conference standards.
In the 200-free, Bush cruised to a win with a time of 1:56.78 that was nearly eight seconds faster than MSU's top finisher. She was followed to the wall by two more underclassmen in freshman Maddie Harris (Ocala, Fla.) and sophomore Katie Adams (Linwood, N.J.) who placed second and third respectively.
Bush later posted the fastest 100-fly time of the meet, touching in with another AQ time of 1:01.22. Sophomore and fellow Ontario native Rae Congdon (Ottawa, Ontario) came in second with a 1:02.37 performance, also qualifying for the conference meet.
The third of Bush's three qualifying times came in the 100-free, a race won comfortably by senior captain Kerrie Kolackovsky (Franklin Square, N.Y.). Kolackovsky (53.31) and Bush (55.04) were the top two performers in the event and both came in under the qualifying mark.
The win was the second of the night for the multiple school record holder as she had previously topped five other swimmers with a time of 25.03 in the 50-free.
While Kolackovsky matched Bush in victories, another freshman in Cece Henry (St. Charles, Mo.) equaled her total of three automatic qualifying times. Henry's best effort came in the 200-IM, her final race of the evening, as she clocked in with a top time of 2:14.86 that was nearly 11 seconds faster than the Hawks' best finish.
Henry also qualified for the BIG EAST Championships in both backstroke events, finishing third in the 100-yard race and second at 200 yards. Sophomore Kelly Miller (State College, Pa.) won the 100-yard race, recording an AQ time in the process while classmate Cora Meehan (Noblesville, Ind.) did the same at 200 yards.
Meehan also placed second in the 100-back, adding a third conference qualifier for SHU in the event.
Two more sophomores in Megan Mallon (Glen Mills, Pa.) and Leah Mayer (London, Ontario) booked a ticket to the conference meet by posting the fastest times in their respective events. Mallon turned in a time of 1:09.63 in the 100-breast while Mayer led an all Seton Hall top-three in the 500-free by clocking in at 5:21.78.
Joining Mayer in the top-three in the event was senior Kate Dwyer (Freehold, N.J.) who placed second and secured her fourth consecutive trip to the conference championship in the process and freshman Erica Naumann (Middletown, Conn.) who touched in third place.
Naumann claimed victory in the 1,000-free on the night as she joined Bush, Henry and Harris, who came out on top in the 200-breast in a quartet of freshmen that collected victories in their first-ever collegiate meet.
Seton Hall also controlled the relay events, fielding the top-three teams in both the 200-medley and 400-free events. In the first race of the season, SHU was spurred to a medley win by the team of Gabi Levine (Garwood, N.J.), Mallon, Kolackovsky and senior captain Kelly Markwell (Old Bridge, N.J.).
To close the night, Kolackovsky combined with Adams, Mayer and Isabelle Alario (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) to pick up a win in the 400-free relay.
While the swimming competition was held at Montclair, the SHU divers got their first crack at competition at home. Diving captain Katie Riley (Newburgh, N.Y.) took first place points in the one-meter while sophomore Gabby Signorelli (Massapequa, N.Y.) claimed the top spot from three meters.
Seton Hall's next appearance will be its lone home meet of the fall as the Pirates are set to host Rider next Thursday, October 17. Start-time is set for 5:00 p.m.
